What If?: Firestar's Demise
by Gingeh and Shadow's Co-writing
Summary: Firestar's death was a little sketchy ... killed by a burning tree? Really? There has to be more to the story than that! Well, there was; StarClan just didn't want the truth coming out. Here are two different possible scenarios of his death: One "serious", one "stupid". Chapter 1 written by Gingerclaw, chapter 2 written by Shadowstroke.
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N: Hello again. After much procrastinating, it took an assignment at school to write a fanfiction (BEST. ASSIGNMENT. EVER.) for us to get writing again. We—that is, Shadow and I—coincidentally wrote the same exact circumstance to write about, so we decided to put it here. It's about how Firestar REALLY died. My version is serious, Shadow's is, to quote her "stupid". XD]**

_[It's xD. And I changed it to make it better. It is now over 3.5 K words long and much more serious. Also xD is much better than XD, because xD SHALL RULE ALL! XD will never be superior!]_

**[XD pwns xD. Deal with it. Anyway, I guess this is part of our What If? series because it WAS on our list of What If?s we were going to do. So please, enjoy!]**_  
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**Firestar's Demise  
"What if Firestar Didn't Die Such a Lame Death?"  
by Gingerclaw**

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"You will never hurt one of my warriors again!" Firestar screeched at Tigerstar.

Tigerstar growled, crouching down. "But I will," he hissed, amber eyes flashing. "Once you are finally dead, there will be no one to protect ThunderClan. I will hunt your warriors down one by one and kill them all, even if it takes a thousand moons. You have robbed me of so much, Firestar, but you will not rob me of my revenge."

With that, the great tabby warrior pounced. Firestar felt huge claws gouge into his shoulders, making his ginger pelt turn red with blood. He twisted, vainly trying to shove Tigerstar off his back. Tigerstar released him, and Firestar had a moment of relief before his lifelong enemy attacked him again.

This time Firestar was ready. He turned his own claws on Tigerstar. The two toms fought fiercely, Firestar trying to defend his Clan from the menace of the Dark Forest and Tigerstar thirsting for revenge.

ThunderClan watched the battle with wide eyes frozen in shock. Suddenly, a crack of thunder and a burst of lightning lit the darkness. The rain began to pour down upon the fighting duo.

The battle was short, but fiercely fought. Eventually, Firestar was overtaken. Weary from the long battle before Tigerstar attacked him, he was pinned on his back. Wounds scarred his pelt, all of them bleeding profusely. He gazed in horror at his opponent.

Tigerstar's expression was on of triumph. "At last!" he hissed. "Revenge is finally mine!"

Firestar's eyes widened as Tigerstar leaned down and bit his throat. Almost with relish, the huge tabby tom watched as the light died in his archenemy's eyes. Tigerstar looked up at the stunned ThunderClan.

"You are all walking dead," he growled to them. "I will give you two days to run ... then I will find you. My revenge would not be complete with out a kit's game of Hide-and-Seek. No one of ThunderClan descent will ever be safe again. None with the blood of the kittypet Clan will walk the forest ever again. I will find you. I will kill you. Your blood will bathe the forest and make the lake run red ..."

"Never!"

Tigerstar whipped his tyrannical head around. He growled. "Lionblaze," he spat. "The traitor."

"I was never a traitor!" Lionblaze yowled. "I have always been loyal to ThunderClan! And you will never destroy my home!"

With that, the golden tom attacked his former mentor. Tigerstar was slightly taken aback, but quickly retaliated. His claws dug into the golden tom's fur, gaining a strong grip, but were unable to break the skin. Growling with frustration at Lionblaze's invincibility, Tigerstar flipped the smaller tom over his shoulder, trying to break or bruise Lionblaze instead of shredding him.

He was unsuccessful. Lionblaze quickly got up, unscathed. "You forgot I could not be harmed," he hissed. "But the same is not true for you!"

He pounced, landing squarely on Tigerstar's back and bowling him over. The Dark Warrior lay winded on the ground for a moment, before regaining his breath and standing back up to face his opponent. However, Lionblaze was already right in front of him, claws extended.

Tigerstar was caught off-guard by the golden tom. His former apprentice slashed his shoulder with glistening claws and pushed the Dark Warrior down. Lionblaze growled at his enemy, eyes filled with battle-wrath. "You will never harm my friends and family ever again," he growled into Tigerstar's ear. "Your days of terror are over!"

The noble warrior killed the tyrant much more quickly than he deserved. ThunderClan was saved from the menace of the Dark Forest. The Clans were safe.

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**[Well that turned out shorter than I expected. If the ending was a little rushed, it was Shadow's fault. *glares* She kept screaming at me to finish.]**

_[Well, you were taking FAR too long! Next chappie...]_


	2. Chapter 2

_[Okay, so, now that you're read something dark and sinister and still entirely brilliant, you get to read some of my writing. Hooray!]  
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**[Hooray? Really?]  
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_[Can you read? Yes, hooray. Deal with it. You do XD, I do hooray. In your face. *pokes face with stick*]  
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**[Ow!]**

[_Ha. I am superior! no, not really, but whatever. Here's chappie 2.]_

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**Firestar's Demise  
"What if Firestar Didn't Die Such a Lame Death?"  
by Shadowstroke**

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Hello. If you're reading this, then you can read. Also, you are probably under the impression that, after killing Tigerstar, Firestar was hit by a flaming tree and died. This is not true, it is a lie spread around by StarClan to preserve Firestar's reputation as the greatest leader ThunderClan had ever seen. But the truth hurts, and I know it. Hello, again; I'm Shadow and I have quite a weird story to tell you.

It started out as a normal day, with Firestar running the camp just as he normally would. He organized patrols, joined hunting patrol, and came back with a squirrel, a mouse, and a blackbird. His Clan was well-fed, the sun was shining high in the sky, and Firestar felt contented. He settled down next to Sandstorm with a piece of fresh-kill and began to eat.

As you may have noticed, Firestar seems to have an attraction to leaves. Leafpool, Hollyleaf, and various other cats I have forgotten to mention a have the word leaf in their name. This was presumably from Spottedleaf (who I've lovingly nicknamed Stalkerbeef), whom Firestar loved very much and obviously cannot get out of his head. This may seem irrelevant now, but it'll make sense as the story continues.

Now, back to ThunderClan. Firestar swallowed his last chunk of prey and yawned. Despite the early hour, he felt sleepy. He wondered if he could get away with taking a quick nap and leaving Brambleclaw in charge. Of course, Brambleclaw was already pretty much in charge of everything already, so Firestar didn't think much about that. He knew he could be spared a few hours rest, so he stretched sleepily and padded over to his den. As his eyes shut, he felt a fuzzy tingle flare up in his paws. It enveloped his whole body, and Firestar was helpless, although he did kick and struggle. Firestar was overpowered, and the last thing he remembered was the scent of oak leaf floating all around him, before his consciousness was plunged into blackness.

Firestar's body arose, but it no longer held the same mind. Firestar's eyes betrayed that, for they glinted bright with insanity. But to all the Clan, he appeared normal and in control.

Where is Firestar's mind, you ask? It is in the Dark Forest, creeping about unnoticed on an unapproved spying mission. Being closely followed by an amused Brokenstar, but he doesn't know that.

Anyways, Firestar's body went to work. He turned, took a deep, calming breath, and tore off into the forest at an unusual speed. He sped passed most of the cats, most of whom ignored this odd behavior. All except Jayfeather, who was investigating a clump of tansy.

Jayfeather paused. "Firestar?" he called out questioningly, but Firestar paid no heed to the blind medicine cat.

In response, Jayfeather unsheathed his claws, but there was nothing he could do with that, as he couldn't see. So Jayfeather turned to his only other 'weapon', his ability to basically read minds. The strange thing was, when he tried to probe Firestar's mind, all he felt was a black emptiness like something was...missing.

Jayfeather forgot his anger with the Clan leader at that point. Something was wrong, and he needed help.

He began searching the camp for Lionblaze, painfully aware that the other cats were all staring at him oddly. After a couple minutes of this, Jayfeather turned on Lilypaw, who was passing by. "Find Lionblaze!" he hissed at her. She yelped, slapped her tail over her mouth, and tore out of camp.

Jayfeather sighed and sat down on his haunches, shaking a few pieces of dirt from his silky gray fur and waiting for Lilypaw and Lionblaze. He stiffened, sensing the approaching pawsteps of another cat.

It was Lilypaw's sister, Seedpaw. She came close to Jayfeather and stuck her face close to his angrily. "I don't care that you're a StarClan chosen medicine cat, Jayfeather. You've been nothing but a grump my whole life. Nocat's dared challenged you before, but I won't stand for it. No one talks to my sister like that, you foxheart!"

Jayfeather flicked his ears casually. "Stop wasting my time, Seedpaw."

Seedpaw's rage rolled off her pelt in waves. She swiped at his side, claws extended, obviously thinking the blind cat wouldn't be able to avoid it. Jayfeather dodged easily, and he batted at the she-cat with sheathed claws, knocking her down.

He frowned at her, his blind eyes glinting with disdain. "Obviously, you're not much of a fighter if a blind medicine cat can knock you off your paws. Stop wasting my time." He turned, ears twitching.

Seedpaw scrambled to her paws, her anger and hatred screaming out at him. But Jayfeather didn't care. He strode off purposefully to wait for his brother.

He did not have to wait long. Lionblaze came bounding toward him, confusion rippling off his pelt. "Jayfeather? Why does Lilypaw look terrified?"

"Because I asked her to find you."

"Is that it? A request from a medicine cat should be an honor, not something that scares their fur off."

Jayfeather paused and thought a moment. "I hissed 'Find Lionblaze' at her." He moaned regretfully. "Tell her I'm sorry. I truly am."

Lionblaze sighed and nodded. After a weighted pause, he spoke up again. "Is Dovewing going to be part of this, too?"

Jayfeather shook his head. "I hope not. This isn't something I need extra senses in. I want you and I want other warriors. I'm sure Dovewing will just slow us down."

Lionblaze settled down next to his brother. "What is it?"

"I just saw Firestar tear out of camp." Jayfeather mewed.

"So?" asked Lionblaze, unconcerned.

"He _ran _out of camp. And when I tried to probe his mind, I couldn't feel anything. Just an empty blackness." Jayfeather could not stress this enough; he was worried.

Lionblaze studied Jayfeather carefully. Suddenly, his eyes flashed in fear and widened. "Jayfeather," he exclaimed, "this could be serious!"

Jayfeather rolled his eyes. "No, really, mousebrain?"

Lionblaze cuffed Jayfeather's ears playfully. "We should follow Firestar, and ask Dovewing to look for him."

"Should we go alone?" Jayfeather inquired. "If it's a threat, we could use the numbers." _No need, _thought Jayfeather thought grimly. _If I couldn't probe his mind, chances are Dovewing can't sense him with her powers. She'll be of no real help. It's warriors I want._

"No," Lionblaze decided, "I'll bring Foxleap and Graystripe. But Dovewing is still coming."

Jayfeather nodded in a resigned fashion. "I'll get the warriors. You go talk to Dovewing."

Lionblaze stood up and walked stiffly toward the warrior's den, where Dovewing lay asleep. Lionblaze prodded her with a paw and began to talk with her.

Jayfeather turned away and padded over to the High Rock, where Brambleclaw and Graystripe were engaged in conversation. "Graystripe? Could you come out with Lionblaze and I? We're going to investigate a patch of herbs Lionblaze claims to have found," Jayfeather mewed. He knew it was a lame excuse, but he was too preoccupied to come up with a better sounding one.

"Why do you need me?" Graystripe asked.

"ShadowClan has been getting edgier and edgier. I've heard from patrols that they're beginning to stray into ThunderClan territory. We could run into trouble." Jayfeather paused, and took a deep breath, praying that Graystripe would agree and come with him.

Graystripe narrowed his eyes. "I'll ask Firestar."

"No!" yowled Jayfeather, and then he winced. He knew how bad that had sounded.

"Why not?" Graystripe inquired accusingly.

"He's not here."

Graystripe glanced at Brambleclaw. Since Brambleclaw knew that Jayfeather was one of the Three, Brambleclaw knew must have been important. "I would go, Graystripe." He mewed solemnly.

Graystripe's gaze softened. "Okay," he relented. "I'll come. Is anyone else coming?"

"Lionblaze, Dovewing, Foxleap, you, and me," Jayfeather replied. "And now I've got to fetch Foxleap."

Graystripe walked briskly past Jayfeather, heading to the camp entrance. "I can do that for you," he meowed.

"Thanks," Jayfeather inwardly sighed in relief. He sat down again and surveyed the camp scents, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

"Nice to know you have decent manners enough to appreciate some of us," a voice hissed out from behind him.

Jayfeather whirled around, but he was too late. Seedpaw leaped upon him, knocking his legs from under him and digging her claws into his sides. "Can't make fun of me now, can you?" she hissed into his ear.

Jayfeather yowled, struggling and flailing. Seedpaw's grip slackened, and he used that moment to break free and pounce on her, his blind eyes flashing.

The moment Jayfeather's paws touched Seedpaw, she wailed as loud as a kit "Help! Jayfeather is attacking me! Help! Help!"

Brambleclaw came in running in time to see the shock register on Jayfeather's face. "Jayfeather?" he mewed, his voice carrying a note of confusion.

"Brambleclaw, it's not what it looks like!" Jayfeather wailed, leaping off Seedpaw. She smirked at him and then fake-yowled in pain.

"Please, help, I think he's going to hurt me more!" Seedpaw wailed again.

This time Sorreltail came hurrying over. She hissed at Jayfeather and clawed his face. Blood spurted out of the claw marks and Jayfeather literally wilted.

"Don't you dare harm another hair on my kits!" she growled, eyes flashing.

"You've hurt me more than I've hurt them!" Jayfeather complained, but Sorreltail ignored him. "Did I harm Cinderpelt when she fell out of that tree?" he yowled angrily. "Did I not work night and day to try to keep Molekit alive when he got sick? Did I not console Poppyfrost when she was miserable about Honeyfern and she thought Berrynose didn't love her? Did I not work harder than anycat to try and kill the snake that killed Honeyfern?" He lashed his tail angrily, glaring at Seedpaw, who glared back. "Now then, answer me this: Why would I harm any of your kits?"

Sorreltail tilted her head. "He's right." She turned to her daughter. "Why would Jayfeather attack you?" she inquired.

"I don't know!" mewled Seedpaw innocently. "He just did!"

"Maybe because she provoked me, scorned me, laughed at me, and then jumped me," Jayfeather grumbled.

"_He_ provoked _me_!" Seedpaw exclaimed. "He was rude to Lilypaw, so I told him to lay off. He attacked me, so I took the chance to attack him back later!"

Jayfeather snorted. "I 'attacked' you after you tried to claw my fur off. At least I had the decency to attack where you could sense me and with my claws sheathed."

Sorreltail looked from Seedpaw to Jayfeather. Jayfeather looked calm and Seedpaw was seething with anger. Sorreltail sighed and turned to Seedpaw. "I believe Jayfeather," she told her. "Let's go talk to Firestar."

"No!" Jayfeather scrambled between them and the way. "Firestar's not here!"

"Okay." Sorreltail looked confused. "Where is he?"

"Out," Jayfeather mewed, and he herded Sorreltail and Seedpaw away from the direction of Firestar's den.

Jayfeather felt a tail on his shoulder, and he nearly jumped out of his fur before he recognized Foxleap's scent.

"Come on!" he meowed. "Graystripe is waiting. We better go!"

Jayfeather nodded, happy for any excuse that could get him away from Seedpaw. Despite Sorreltail's siding, he knew the ordeal was not yet over.

As he fell into step beside Foxleap, he thought about Firestar. This had cost them so much time, he wondered what the leader was up to. This made Jayfeather all the more worried, and he hurried on.

Of course, at that moment, he tripped on a stick. Foxleap wordlessly helped him up. Jayfeather gritted his teeth and continued, angry at himself for wasting time.

When they reached the others, Jayfeather first sensed Graystripe with his head tilted his head, surveying the rest of the cats.

"So, what are we going to be doing? For real?" he added. "You might have fooled Brambleclaw, but that won't work on me. What are we really doing?"

Lionblaze spoke up. "Something is...wrong with Firestar. He ran away from camp a while ago, and we're going to look for him." He looked Jayfeather, the worry clearly etched in his face. "Dovewing can't sense him at all, but we know the general area he's at. Follow me." Lionblaze walked off, going slowly.

Jayfeather was silently grateful. Between the brawl with Seedpaw and his normal duties, he was tired, and felt almost ready to drop. He followed Foxleap closely to help guide him, and they had walked for a long period of time when Lionblaze finally stopped them.

"Should be around here somewhere," he mewed, turning to Dovewing, who shrugged helplessly.

"Do you hear that?" Jayfeather asked, twitching his ears. "Sounds like leaves crunching..."

They all bolted toward the sound, which at that point they all could hear. Finding the source of the crunching, they all stood mouths agaped.

"Heeeellllllooooo!" warbled Firestar, who was rolling around in the leaves.

"Um...Firestar? Are you feeling alright?" Jayfeather asked, wondering if the old cat had gone senile.

"Alright? I'm feeling more than alright. I FEEL LIKE PIE!" Firestar threw himself into a pile of leaves. "I LURVE LEAVES!" he exclaimed.

Lionblaze's eyes widened. "Firestar!" he called nervously. "Snap out of it!"

"Snap out of what?" Firestar mewed in a singsong voice. "I LOVE LEAVES!" he caterwauled again, propelling himself forward with his back paws. "I lurve them sooper dooper much! So much I'm going to change ThunderClan to LeafClam!"

Dovewing gasped. "You can't change a Clan name!" she exclaimed, horrified.

"I DID!" crowed Firestar. "I also am gonna change everyone's warrior suffix to 'leaf', too, cuz they should lurves leaves like meeeeee!"

"No!" cried Foxleap.

"OH YEAH!" shrieked Firestar. "You Foxleaf now! And you're Jayleaf! And you're Lionleaf! And you're Grayleaf! And you're Doveleaf! And my daughter is Leafleaf now!" Firestar giggled. "Can you believe this! Leafleaf!" He rolled around on the leaves again, cackling "Leafleaf!" and trying to eat the leaves.

"Firestar, don't do this!" begged Foxleaf.

"NO!" Firestar shot Foxleaf a murderous glare. "You can't tell meeeee what to do! I lead LeafClam!"

"Okay, Firestar, can you follow us back home?" Graystripe mewed, speaking like he would to a particularly stubborn kit.

"Yep!" Firestar replied, and he followed the patrol back to camp.

When they reached it, Sorreltail bounded over to them. "Firestar!" she cried. "I need you to talk to Seedpaw. She and Jayfeather-"

"Not now, Sorrelleaf!" Firestar meowed.

Sorreltail blinked. "My name isn't Sorrelleaf, its-"

"You'll see," Jayfeather mewed, a warning infused in the words and tone.

"Will you guys stop cutting me-"

"Hey yoooouuuu guys! Gather here for a Clam meeting!" Firestar yowled from the High Rock. "Heh heh! Clam meeting!"

Lionblaze groaned, but he obeyed Firestar's call. So did the rest of our very confused Clan, and they all settled around Firestar to hear what he had to say. It was horrifying.

"I LURVE LEAFES! I mean leaves! So imma change our name to LEAFCLAM! Clams are salty! Ew! Still, we is LeafClam now! Yay! And yous warrior's prefixes is all 'leaf' now! I LURVE LEAVES!" Firestar fell off the High Rock. His voice still carried to his cringing, disbelieving Clan. "You go sleep now!"

Then began the confusing and crazy existence of LeafClam

**~Later, at the next Gathering~**

"WindClan is doing well after the Dark Forest war. We remain strong and capable. We have nothing else report." Onestar finished his report and turned to Blackstar.

Blackstar coughed and gasped, clinging to the tree for support. "ShadowClan is as strong as ever. We thrive, and will continue to do so. ShadowClan has nothing else to report." He coughed and rasped again. Age was clearly showing in the old cat, but still the old cat's eyes gleamed with his old energy.

Mistystar nodded. "Thank you, Blackstar. RiverClan has plenty of fish, and like the other Clans we are surviving well. Also like the other Clans, we have nothing else to report."

All the cats gathered looked expectantly at Firestar. Firestar cleared his throat. "I LURVE LEAVES!" he announced. "ThunderClan in now LeafClam. Clams are gross. Also, all our warrior's suffixes are now 'leaf'."

Gasps of surprise and shock rang through the crowd. Onestar stared at Firestar confusedly. "Come on, old friend," he mewed. "This is ridiculous!"

"YO FACE IS RIDICULOUS!" screeched Firestar. He leapt down from the Tree. "WE LEAVIN NOW!" he called to his Clan, who were enduring this whole mess and hoping it would end soon.

Jayleaf sighed and turned to Willowshine, who was seated nearby "I'm sorry. Firestar's gone a bit senile."

He could feel the pity rolling off her pelt. "I'm sorry, Jayfeather," she mewed. "Talk to you later!"

Jayleaf sighed and went back to his Clan, exasperated and tired. All he wanted to do was sleep and get away from his crazy, messed up waking world.

**~Several Moons Later~**

"Jayfeather?" A voice that was hauntingly familiar broke through Jayleaf's sleep.

Jayleaf ignored it, imagining he was still dreaming. Then he shot up. If he was really dreaming, he would be able to see.

"Firestar?" Jayfeather mewed incredulously.

"What happened?" Firestar asked.

"You went a bit... crazy." Jayfeather mewed.

"Tell me," Firestar demanded.

Jayfeather refrained, shrinking away from the Clan leader.

Firestar sighed. "I feel fine now, honestly. Please tell me."

Jayfeather stared at his leader. His eyes were older, his pelt more battered, and he had an aged quality that the 'other' Firestar didn't. The proper Firestar was truly back. Jayfeather sighed and began to tell Firestar what he had done.

"You didn't really do anything, you left all the leadership to Brambleclaw. But what you did do made our lives miserable. You changed the Clan name to LeafClam-"

"LeafClam?!" Firestar exclaimed.

"Yes. Then you changed all the suffixes in our names to 'leaf',"

"Oh Great StarClan..." Firestar murmured, sounding deeply lost and confused.

"And then you announced it at the Gathering,"Jayfeather concluded.

Firestar bowed his head. For a long moment, he remained silent. Then he spoke, his tremulous mew filled with regret. "I cannot take control of mt Clan again," he whispered sadly. "The other Clan leaders would soon banish me, despite the fact I have regained my senses." He looked up at Jayfeather, whose bright blue eyes stared back, unseeing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please tell them that. Tell them that despite what I've done and will do, I've always loved my Clan." Firestar bowed his head. "Thank you, Jayfeather."

Jayfeather gasped. He felt a flash of what was running in Firestar's mind. "Oh, no, you can't!" Jayfeather cried.

"I must," Firestar mewed simply.

Jayfeather bowed his head. Speech was difficult, and Jayfeather was struggling with his bound up emotions. "Thank you, Firestar," He managed. "No matter what happens, you will _always _be the greatest leader we ever had. Every kit will know of you, the cat that saved all the Clans. You will never be forgotten."

Firestar licked the top of Jayfeather's head. "Thank you, Jayfeather." He pointed up at Silverpelt with his tail. "See you soon," he meowed, the starlight shining even brighter than ever in his deep green eyes.

Jayfeather nodded, his own blind eyes shining just as brightly with grief. "See you soon," he mewed.

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_[A/N: That's all for now! Check us out later to read more stuff or just to laugh and enjoy our hatred for each other!]_

**[... you said they were going to find Firestar dead, suffocated in leaves. *poutyface* Aww ...]**_  
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_[I changed it so that it was more emotional. But yes, he does drown in leaves. And since that was Brainy's idea, I really didn't want it in there. Thank you for ruining it.]_**  
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**[You're welcome!]  
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_[:tongue: Okay, then. I hate you.]_


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